Casting Call:

Casting calls list

Short Film

Details

Union:

Union or Non union

Area of media:

Short Film

Network:

Paid?:

Yes

Rates:

Unpaid as per ACTRA/CFC agreement for 8+1 shoot day and up to 4 hours of rehearsal. Overtime paid at 35% of the ACTRA IPA, if incurred.

Deadline:

Oct 8, 2025

Callbacks:

N/A

Shooting starts:

Nov 3, 2025 1 day shoot + 4 hour rehearsal

Shooting finishes:

Nov 15, 2025 1 day shoot + 4 hour rehearsal

Shooting locations:

GTA

Cities for response:

Toronto

Comments

These one-day shoots are called “VOICE” and are professionally produced 5 minute productions designed to showcase the writer’s voice and potential of a feature script in development. These are a carefully crafted moment or scene that connects an audience to what’s at the heart of the writer’s feature. These pieces will be screened at an Industry Showcase event for The Norman Jewison Film Program and will eventually be available online through the CFC’s YouTube channel for further viewing.

BIO
Berend McKenzie (he/she/they interchangeably) is a Treaty 13 Toronto based, award-winning playwright, screenwriter, actor and published author. Berend is a 2021 inductee in the Warner Brothers. Discovery X Global Access Writers’ Academy, the 2024 Emerging 20 Mentorship Program, the 2024 BSO Writing Mentorship Program, the 2024 Netflix-Banff Diversity of Voices Initiative and the has just been inducted into the CFC’s 2025 Norm Jewison Film Program (Writer). Berend’s full-length plays include, the outrageous, award-winning queer puppet show for adults, Get Off the Cross Mary! And their groundbreaking, one-person show, NGGRFG (would you say the name of this play?) Berend’s acting credits include Catwoman (Halle Berry), Life or Something Like It Angelina Jolie), Andromeda, Cold Squad and Connie and Carla.

Storyline

On the final night of the Stanley Cup playoffs in Vancouver, an HIV Positive addict is summoned to the bedside of his dying ex-partner, where he’s forced to face a room full of people who despise him, and mistakes he’s tried hard to forget.

Roles

Role type	Role	Gender & Age range
Lead	BAKAR	Female 25 - 30 Years old
Description Male, 25-30, Black (BIPOC), is an HIV Positive addict with an impatient, crusty and volatile disposition in the same vein as Logan Roy in Succession. A sensitive manipulator but not a victim, Bakar understands his unchecked rage prevents him from getting what he wants, so he spends most of his time trying to keep his cool. A HINT TO BAKAR and THE SCENE: This is a nuanced drama with dark comedy woven throughout. Try resisting the impulse to lean into the “AIDS of it all” concentrating instead on each character’s motives.
Role type	Role	Gender & Age range
Lead	DR.KIMBLE	Male 60 - 69 Years old
Description Male, 60’s, White, is a straight, good-natured, overworked, HIV/AIDS doctor who has serviced the gay men in Vancouver for years. He is a non-judgmental ally who’s seen it all and isn’t fazed by volatile patients like Bakar. All he wants is to get through his day of patients, ride his motorcycle home, kick back and enjoy the game with his wife and friends. A HINT TO BAKAR and THE SCENE: This is a nuanced drama with dark comedy woven throughout. Try resisting the impulse to lean into the “AIDS of it all” concentrating instead on each character’s motives.

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